Finally, Schaub ready for his first playoff game

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Matt Schaub had to watch from the sidelines last year as the Texans made their first playoff appearance in franchise history, this year he will be at the helm of the offense. ( Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle )

A year ago, he watched from the sideline.

Matt Schaub was the starting quarterback for the Texans, but a Lisfranc foot injury ended his season after the Texans’ 10th game. So when the Texans played in the first playoff game in franchise history, Schaub didn’t.

Through his recovery and throughout this season, Schaub thought about that. It was his motivation.

Now, it’s Schaub’s moment.

The Texans are hosting the Bengals in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs Saturday.

“It is exciting,” Schaub, 31, said. “It’s an exciting time of year to be a part of this to get ready to play in a playoff game, especially here at home in front of our home fans. I’m definitely looking forward to it, but the thing that’s going to help us win the game are the same whenever you’re playing, wherever you’re playing. That’s playing smart, clean, good football.”

Though it isn’t the franchise’s first playoff game, it is Schaub’s first playoff game.

“It’s not easy at all to get to this point,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “A lot of guys go 15 years and never get a taste of it. I’m excited for him. I know how it felt for me last year. Him having to sit out a majority of the season, I can only imagine how anxious he is for this weekend.”

Though he didn’t finish the season, Schaub helped lead the Texans to a 7-3 record before his injury last season. He was healthy by this training camp, having recovered from the injury.

Throughout the season, he’s thrown for 4,008 yards and 22 touchdowns. His completion percentage of 64.3 is only 0.1 off of his career average.

Over the past month, though, Schaub and the Texans’ offense have struggled.

Until scoring a touchdown in the second half of their season finale against the Colts, the Texans hadn’t scored a touchdown in eight quarters. Their Week 16 loss to Minnesota represented a rare game in which the Texans did not score a single touchdown.

While Schaub had five games in the first half of the season with passer ratings higher than 100, he had only two such games in the team’s final eight games.

December made Schaub’s earlier feats seem distant. That includes his four-touchdown performance against the Denver Broncos and his historic performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars in which he threw for 527 yards, tied for the second most in NFL history.

“I think Matt knows exactly what he needs to do right, and we’ve told him that and I’ll just leave it at that,” offensive coordinator Rick Dennison said. “He needs to sharpen his game, and everybody needs to.”

It’s his task as he gets ready to do something he’s never done before. Not that his coaches want him to see it that way.

“First off, you have to prepare like it’s any other game,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “It’s no different, so the preparation stays the same. Matt’s team has to play good for Matt to win. This is a team game and that’s what we’re focused on right now, playing better as a football team, but Matt has his job to do, too. I just want him to be himself.”

If Schaub is himself, he will give Kubiak that even-keeled, unemotional performance. That’s just part of Schaub’s personality.

“I’ve been the same guy since I stepped foot (here),” Schaub said. “This is how I am. I try to keep things the same, keep my routine the same, keep my preparation the same. That’s just how I am.”